Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine

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IAmTheCheapestGamer

IAmTheCheapestGamer

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First off, let me welcome you all to the new guide thread. Second, I'd like to ask you all to please keep conversations not pertaining to guide drops or which ones you've grabbed to a minimum to avoid cluttering the thread. It's not that I don't enjoy the chit chat, but that it may stop others from locating information on the newest drops.

That being said, let me thank Cheapy for creating this site, without which I would've spent probably 10 times what I HAVE spent on games and guides. Moreover, let me thank each and every one of my fellow CAGs for continuing to contribute to making this site a great place to find out about sales and clearances of the items we as gamers use most. Without a great community, NONE of this would be possible.

Furthermore, I would like to thank our Wiki editors HeatDolphin and Rocko for updating the Wiki. Great job.

Now, with that out of the way(and before I get to rambling), let's get on to making this new thread.

Useful Information(and links):

Game Guide Trading Clearinghouse(old one, locked now):
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102021

Game Guide Trade Thread(KEEP ALL TRADE REQUESTS HERE OR IN PM'S)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175548

PLEASE keep ALL trade requests in there or PM's. Thank you.

Reduced Price Guide Discussion Thread(KEEP ALL DISCUSSION NOT RELATED TO GUIDE DROPS HERE!!!)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists(master drop lists and recent drops):

Master Drop List(by store, alphabetically):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28master_lists%29

Recent Guide Drops(by date,also check the second post in this thread):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28recent_drops%29

What is the purpose of this thread?

The purpose of this thread is to let our fellow CAGs know when a guide has dropped to a low price(it's NOT ALWAYS A PENNY), so they can go out and grab guides for themselves and for trading with other CAGs.

Anytime you have guide drops to report, post them here. Please specify at which store you found them and which guides you found and list them in alphabetical order. Thank you.

What are penny guides?

Penny guides are guides which have been on the market for a while and the publisher(or store chain) decide that the remaining stock of these guides have little to no chance of selling, so they issue an order to pull them from the shelves and destroy them. At that time, they are also marked as .01 in their inventory system, except in the case of BBV, which marks them .01 only AFTER pulling them.

Most stores have an agreement with the publisher that states that if they destroy the remaining stock of those items, they will receive a credit for their value from the publisher. This is why many stores are usually annoyed when we CAGs come in and buy the guides AT the penny price, since otherwise they would've received a full credit for those items.

According to an employee at a local BB, they also have a recycling program for the pennied stock, so as to not clutter landfill space with the guides. As to how true it is, I cannot confirm, but I would hope that the paper is at least recycled instead of just dumpstered.

Prior Reduced price game guide threads:

Guide Three:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50515&highlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167157

Finally, below is a list of website links, each of which goes to their respective guide page. Whenever possible, I will update the links with better ones(if available).

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
BestBuy
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuides.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, Guinavere and anyone else who has created and maintained the guide thread before, as well as to all of those who find out either advance information on drops or provide a list of which ones dropped when we do have a drop.

The post below this one contains a list going back at LEAST six months of the more current guide drops, which stores they occured at and which ones dropped. Note that sometimes(Oblivion guide, Quake Wars: Enemy Territory)there are multiple versions of a guide, be it that there are Prima versions, Brady versions and the occasional Nintendo and Doublejump guides.

Please specify WHICH version has dropped when mentioning possible guide drops. Thank you.


 
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[quote name='BarbblerElf']In the BBV thread a few days ago.

Codes & Cheats Summer 2008
Mario Kart Wii
Halo 3 (unconfirmed?)
SMG[/quote]

I posted that list in the BBV thread but I got the list from the posts in here. :lol:

Also, I think IATCG was being sarcastic.
 
Anyone think we'll be having another BB drop soon? There was one on the first Monday of March last year, so maybe we'll get one. I'm hoping we'll get some sort of early confirmation again.
 
Confirming these penny guides that I received today from Blockbuster.

Assasin's Creed (Prima)
Devil May Cry 4 (Prima)
Mass Effect (Prima)
Ninja Gaiden II (Prima)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness
Super Mario Galaxy Premiere Edition (Prima)
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Wii Version
 
[quote name='Roa']Confirming these penny guides that I received today from Blockbuster.

Assasin's Creed (Prima)
Devil May Cry 4 (Prima)
Mass Effect (Prima)
Ninja Gaiden II (Prima)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness
Super Mario Galaxy Premiere Edition (Prima)
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Wii Version[/quote]



Wait, what?!!
 
[quote name='dys006']Wait, what?!![/QUOTE]

I checked guides at Blockbuster. These are some penny guides I found :)
 
Last time I got lucky with a Mario Kart Wii guide at BBV...but that was months ago. Went back last week to look for Halo 3 guide, but they didn't have any. I would say they're YMMV in a sense that some BBVs might not have been carrying these guides in the first place or they may have already pulled them.
 
Definitely YMMV.

I checked 3 of them within a 10 mile radius and only one of them had those guides.

Agree with yuy104
Some Blockbusters never pull their guides and others have very few guides or they don't never receive them at all.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']Anyone think we'll be having another BB drop soon? There was one on the first Monday of March last year, so maybe we'll get one. I'm hoping we'll get some sort of early confirmation again.[/quote]

Not after having had such a large drop this past month. I don't think we'll see another drop until at least April.

Unfortunately, the advanced warning of what was dropping did little to nothing for us this time, since most stores either had them pulled or denied many of us the guides once we found them on the shelves.

So really, I'd rather have little to no warning this time, so that way then I'm not disheartened when they're all pulled.
 
just got both Ninja Gaiden II (Prima) and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness. They had a lot more but all regular price
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Not after having had such a large drop this past month. I don't think we'll see another drop until at least April.

Unfortunately, the advanced warning of what was dropping did little to nothing for us this time, since most stores either had them pulled or denied many of us the guides once we found them on the shelves.

So really, I'd rather have little to no warning this time, so that way then I'm not disheartened when they're all pulled.[/QUOTE]


It was actually worse at my store; they pulled the guides when they usually don't.
 
Sorry if this question has already been answered but do the guides ring up as $0.01 only after being totaled? Some of the reduced guides that were listed in this thread are still ringing up at normal price at BB after a price check.
 
[quote name='btt']Sorry if this question has already been answered but do the guides ring up as $0.01 only after being totaled? Some of the reduced guides that were listed in this thread are still ringing up at normal price at BB after a price check.[/quote]
They scan at .01. They don't have to hit total. You can see it on their computer as it rings up. Some BB guides went back to full price after the drop. Which ones were full price for you?
 
[quote name='btt']Sorry if this question has already been answered but do the guides ring up as $0.01 only after being totaled? Some of the reduced guides that were listed in this thread are still ringing up at normal price at BB after a price check.[/QUOTE]
Generally, yes.

The thing with the most recent BB drop is that, after being pulled, many of the guides were put back on the shelf and brought back up to full price. The second post hasn't been changed to reflect this.
 
[quote name='yuy104']Last time I got lucky with a Mario Kart Wii guide at BBV...but that was months ago. Went back last week to look for Halo 3 guide, but they didn't have any. I would say they're YMMV in a sense that some BBVs might not have been carrying these guides in the first place or they may have already pulled them.[/quote]

Blockbusters getting the guides is REALLY YMMV. I know the BBV I work at gets some guides, but not all. I know for a fact we never got the Halo 3 or SMG guides. We did get Fallout 3 and games like that though.
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']Blockbusters getting the guides is REALLY YMMV. I know the BBV I work at gets some guides, but not all. I know for a fact we never got the Halo 3 or SMG guides. We did get Fallout 3 and games like that though.[/quote]

Another CAG(whose wife works for the company) mentioned that they typically only mark the guides as .01 in the system AFTER they pull them, which is why getting the guides for a cent is a HUGE, HUGE YMMV.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Another CAG(whose wife works for the company) mentioned that they typically only mark the guides as .01 in the system AFTER they pull them, which is why getting the guides for a cent is a HUGE, HUGE YMMV.[/quote]

That is actually true. Most of the time they get paper work to pull guides/magazines or whatever else gets pennied. Some stores let the employees "toss" the guides out their own way if you know what I mean. To actually get the guides, you will have to go to a store that is severely crippled in terms of man power and can't get anyone to do any paperwork/pulling movies/guides/magazines. That or hope that the Manager, Assistant Manager and Both Shift Leaders completely forgot about the paperwork for a week.
 
[quote name='KABUKISTAR']Generally, yes.

The thing with the most recent BB drop is that, after being pulled, many of the guides were put back on the shelf and brought back up to full price. The second post hasn't been changed to reflect this.[/quote]

BZZZZ WRONG!!! Some of the ones that went back up in price were removed, but since the entire list of them that went back up isn't in one centralized location, I removed those which people told me about and the rest have remained.

However, if anyone has a master list of which ones went back up, please let me know via posting it in the thread(IN RED PLEASE, so it sticks out from all of the yapping about nothing)or via PM's.

Thanks and sorry if this is harsh, but I'm too lazy(like most who ask 'did anything drop' instead of just waiting and checking the thread sporadically WITHOUT posting)to scan through all of the pages SINCE the drop occured to gather the entire list of what went back up.

I already removed the Spore LE bundle, Warhammer Bundle and Wario: Shake It, since those three WERE verified as having gone back up.

Like I said, if anyone has a list of which ones went back up that's been verified, I'll remove the other guides I may have missed.
 
I thought earlier this week Best Buy had 60 game guides listed on their website. My same search is now turning up 52. Wonder if that means a first Monday drop is in store for us tomorrow.
 
I too don't think that there will be a drop tomorrow. It should be worth mentioning however, that there are enough guides for a drop should one happen:

Bioshock (PS3)
Call Of Duty 4
Halo 3
Haze
Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Lego Batman
Lego Indiana Jones
Metal Gear Solid IV: LE
MySims Kingdom
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Bundle
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Pokedex
Quantum Of Solace
Silent Hill: Homecoming
SOCOM: Confrontation
Soul Calibur IV
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Atlus

And the ones that went back up:

Battlefield: Bad Company
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
Fracture
Madden 09 LE
Spore LE
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels
Warhammer Online Bundle
Wario Land: Shake It!
 
Sorry for the double post, but looking at the BB site, they FINALLY got rid of most of the pennied guides (I.E. Lair, Orange Box, Metroid 3, etc.)
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']
Unfortunately, the advanced warning of what was dropping did little to nothing for us this time, since most stores either had them pulled or denied many of us the guides once we found them on the shelves.

So really, I'd rather have little to no warning this time, so that way then I'm not disheartened when they're all pulled.[/quote]

I just took Vahn's advice and hid all the guides I wanted and I made out like a bandit. All the stores in my area pulled, but since I had them hidden I was able to get what I wanted. Without the advance warning I have to deal with the mass hoarder in my area that sells on amazon.
 
During the next drop I'm going to be greedy this time. I'm going to grab 1 of everything I want even a little bit, since the last 3 times I only grabbed like 1-4 guides, they were pulled minutes later.(I don't mean hoard, I have no need for 5 of each guide)
 
Does Blockbuster ever "penny" their guides. I was in there yesterday and seen so many older PS3 and 360 game guides. Looks as if they've never been touched.

edit:

Good lord...

Halo 3
Click to expand...
They're just now penny'ing that out. It will probably be a year before all those MGS4 CE get pennied.
 
[quote name='Dhuk']Does Blockbuster ever "penny" their guides. I was in there yesterday and seen so many older PS3 and 360 game guides. Looks as if they've never been touched.[/quote]

no never.......:bomb:
 
[quote name='Dhuk']Does Blockbuster ever "penny" their guides. I was in there yesterday and seen so many older PS3 and 360 game guides. Looks as if they've never been touched.

edit:

Good lord...



They're just now penny'ing that out. It will probably be a year before all those MGS4 CE get pennied.[/quote]
I really wish they would penny Halo 3 at Best Buy. Mine has about 60 copies of it. I would prob buy them all for giggles then just put them in people's mailboxes.

The other day I left like 4 guides at Burger King for any little kid to find. One was a pokemon guide so it would make them happy.
 
[quote name='Dhuk']Does Blockbuster ever "penny" their guides.[/quote]
[quote name='Wolve11']no never.......:bomb:[/quote]
Actually...yeah, they do. Right there at the top of post #2. Picked up a few Mario Kart Wii guides myself.
 
I was at circuit city tonight scored:
Rock Band x3
Devil May Cry 4 x4
Metroid Prime Corruptionx2.
However, there were another 5-6 guides i brought up, and the cashier said "No price was being show" and a guy behind him said something like "I'm going to have to throw those out". Was he just trying to score the guides for himself, has anyone else had this happen?
 
same here with CC loots. El Toro, CA. Checked the price myself with the scanner. fun.
4 DMC4
2 Halo 3
1 SMG, rock band and viva pinana.

at first the clerk was being a bitch not processing it. she said "i cant process this because the computer will refuse to check out"
wtf shitty reason is that? if it can ring up, then its good for sale.
I told her to try and it worked, and I got my books.
 
[quote name='anch']same here with CC loots. El Toro, CA. Checked the price myself with the scanner. fun.
4 DMC4
2 Halo 3
1 SMG, rock band and viva pinana.

at first the clerk was being a bitch not processing it. she said "i cant process this because the computer will refuse to check out"
wtf shitty reason is that? if it can ring up, then its good for sale.
I told her to try and it worked, and I got my books.[/quote]

Good job, I am proud of you
 
My CC was whipped out of guides a while ago... the only ones left now are:

Too Human
Some pokemon game
Warhammer Online
Madden 09
Splinter Cell: Double Agent

and I belive only splinter cell has pennied.
 
[quote name='Cheapass24']I was at circuit city tonight scored:
Rock Band x3
Devil May Cry 4 x4
Metroid Prime Corruptionx2.
However, there were another 5-6 guides i brought up, and the cashier said "No price was being show" and a guy behind him said something like "I'm going to have to throw those out". Was he just trying to score the guides for himself, has anyone else had this happen?[/quote]


He was probably just applying the correct penny guide rule (DESTROY! DESTROY!) Which is funny because the store will be closed in a week. "If I don't comply with the rules, I could be fired."
 
[quote name='ninja dog']Fallout 3 CE for a penny would kick so much ass.[/QUOTE]

That's what I'm holding out for! Anyone check BB today? I have a Dr.s Appt so I won't be able to get in there early. (I'm in pacific anyhow).
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Fracture
Madden 09 LE
Spore LE
Those guides have NOT been repriced at every best buy! I just picked up multiple copies of each of those guides @ BB on sat, 2/28.[/QUOTE]

Weird, could they have 're-fallen'?
 
[quote name='Cheapass24']I was at circuit city tonight scored:
Rock Band x3
Devil May Cry 4 x4
Metroid Prime Corruptionx2.
However, there were another 5-6 guides i brought up, and the cashier said "No price was being show" and a guy behind him said something like "I'm going to have to throw those out". Was he just trying to score the guides for himself, has anyone else had this happen?[/quote]

If no price shows up, they need to cover one of the barcodes with their hand and scan only the uncovered one. Rock Band comes up OOS no matter what, but I think DMC4 should be in system as a penny. I know for a fact that if scanned correctly Metroid 3 will ring up a penny and not out of system.

Whenever they came upon OOS stuff at my CC, they just scanned one of the other guides in its place for me with no questions.
 
[quote name='hellmutt']Weird, could they have 're-fallen'?[/quote]

No idea. I was at a different BB then my normal spots, and I thought I possibly would get lucky :lol:, and it turns out I did. I'll see if I can find the receipt when I get home to post it.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Fracture
Madden 09 LE
Spore LE
Those guides have NOT been repriced at every best buy! I just picked up multiple copies of each of those guides @ BB on sat, 2/28.[/QUOTE]

Very weird, I assume they could've been pennied out again. They're back on the shelves at many BB's in the area so I'll have to check next time I'm in the store.
 
Snowed in as well.
(start offtopic IATCG-style post)
Today was supposed to be the first day of construction on my new house too, but doesn't look like that will be starting anytime soon now. Damn winter.
(/end)
 
I am going to try to hit up a BB this afternoon if I can for the 50% anime, .01 guides, and watchmen tix. I will check if the others 're-pennied'.
 
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